Re: Audio for Movie
 

JUST talked to a local sound guy about that very issue. Here's what he said:

-closer to talent is better than on the walls (unless you have enough to entirely, or at least mostly, cover walls

-if working on a hard floor, and you could only put one blanket down, he said on the floor, BEHIND talent, where the mic is pointing, if you drew an imaginary line from the mic's tip, through the talent, to the ground.

-go for surface area over density when trying to damp reverb. In other words, DON'T fold the blankets over double, let them be as big as they can be. Reverse is true if you're trying to block outside noise or something noisy near you (fridge, etc.)--double 'em up and drape it over fridge, for instance.

-if you only have a few blankets and you do put one on a wall, DON'T put it on the parallel wall, spread 'em to perpendicular walls around the room

-in a perfect world, you'd form a box (four walls) of blankets around talent. Don't put it close or it will start to sound. . .boxy. Realistically, you will probably have lighting concerns getting in the way, so put 'em where you can

Re: Audio for Movie
 

If you haven't got many "official" proper sound blankets, don't understimate the simple old duvet. You can often pick them up for next to nothing at second hand shops. You can tack various sound absorption items to walls, but in actual fact they do an even better job if there is air space between them and the wall.

Re: Audio for Movie
 

If you are going to be doing sound there really is no reason not to have a few moving blankets as part of your standard kit. They are cheap (like under $10 a blanket if you search online) and in most locations will make more of a difference in getting quality sound than spending $1000 on a top quality mic. A few blankets and a couple of C-stands can do magic in taming a very live room.

-Garrett

Re: Audio for Movie
 

wow great tips. Does anyone know any good video showing these tips in actions and show the before and after?